Al-Miqdad: Human Rights Council should put grave violations, resulted by coercive measures, on top of its priorities

GENEVA, (ST)_Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Al-Miqdad, called on Human Rights Council to put grave violations, resulted by US and EU coercive unilateral measures against Syrian people, on the top of its priorities.

In a speech via video to the 46th session of Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Al-Miqdad said that those who claim that the coercive measures don’t target the Syrian people lie because they really target the Syrians in their livelihood.

He reiterated Syria’s determination to combat terrorism and practice its legal right to end any illegitimate presence on its territory.

“15 years after the establishment of the council, we regret that a number of Western states still use the platform of the council to impose an approach which is based on double standard policy and selectivity in dealing with human rights,” the minister said.

He added that the initiatives which have been addressed against Syria by some states inside this council during the past ten years represent the most obvious example about the way of investing decisions to find politicized mechanisms and organize sessions prevailed by various forms of disinformation, incitement and double standard policies.

Al-Miqdad indicated that the crisis to which Syria was exposed,  implied  security, economic, educational, humanitarian and food suffering, adding that some of its chapters are still going on in light of relentless efforts by some countries to exploit the suffering of Syrians through circulating misleading information, issuing reports and decisions, and holding sessions aimed at exerting political pressure on the Syrian government.

“ Syria is determined to continue fighting terrorism and  exercise its legal right to end any illegitimate presence on its territory,” he affirmed.

The minister added that terrorist groups and separatist US-backed “Syrian Democratic Forces” militia perpetrate gross and systematized violations of human rights in the interests of their operators and supporters.

“Cutting off water as a collective punishment to one million citizen in Hasakah province is one of the examples about the grave and organized  violations committed by the Turkish occupation forces and terrorist groups on the Syrian territory,” Mikdad said.

He added that after the liberation of most of the Syrian territory from terrorism, state institutions are working to rebuild what has been destroyed by terrorism and provide a suitable environment for the return of all Syrians with dignity.

Al-Miqdad asserted that those who claim that the unilateral, coercive  measures do not target the Syrian people lie because the measures are really targeting the Syrians in their basic needs and livelihood.

He went on to say that lifting those measures is considered as an essential guarantor to remove big challenges in front of full application of human rights, so, the Syrian Arab Republic calls on  Human Rights Council to put serious, systematized and widespread violations, resulted by those measures, on the top of its priorities.

“ With the conclusion of the meetings of the fifth round of the committee of discussing the constitution which was recently held with a facilitation by the United Nations in Geneva , I would like to reiterate that the committee is the exclusive owner to decide the track of its work and the outcomes that can be reached, and  its success requires non-intervention in its affairs by any party,” Mikdad added.

Al-Miqdad stressed that the inalienable right of the Syrian Arab Republic in the occupied Syrian Golan is a right guaranteed by international references, firm and agreed upon principles by international law, adding that the unilateral actions that try to exploit the exceptional circumstances in the region, to go in contrary to this reality, are null and void procedures that have no legal value.

“ Syria renews its firm support for the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of June 4, 1967, with guaranteeing the right of refugees to return home in implementation of the United Nations relevant resolutions,” he added.

Source: Sana English